By Sarah Babb

The very term management development implies that managers can all be developed. Yet some of the latest work around leadership pipelines indicates that there is a vast difference between managing oneself, managing others, managing managers and managing enterprises. There is a fundamental shift in values, processes and competence requirements, and not all people will meet these needs.

Yet we still treat management development as a monolithic ‘one size fits all’ process. It is more effective to differentiate approaches to management development, to align different learning methodologies as well as make sure the selection for the programme is appropriate.

A report was generated in 2006 by PWC on the key trends in human capital, based on data collected from more than 15,000 organisations across Europe and the US. One of the key challenges facing organizations is the fact that there is little evidence to suggest that leadership is improving despite a continued focus and investment in this area. The report states that there is no clear indication that enhanced performance is arising from the considerable investment in leadership development.

New approaches to leadership development are required. The premise that this statement is based on, is that there is a shortage of leaders for our businesses, and hence the need to develop managers and leaders. In South Africa, the Human Sciences Research Council reports in the HRD Review 2003, with respect to Managers, that we need 45,130 managers, and yet in 2000 South African universities awarded a sum total of 12 391 degrees in business, management and related degrees . Virtually every day we read of leaders leaving one business only to re-appear in a different organisation, or ‘floor-crossing’ to the competing business, or taking on multiple board seats. The pool of available leaders is limited, so organizations compete for the same pool of leaders. Hence the need to develop and build leadership capability- not only to expand the pool of available future leaders within the business, but also to build the capability of leaders brought into the business to be fully operational and productive within the business context. There needs to be some orientation, and some leadership development of all leaders, at all levels of leadership.

Of course, the debate lingers as to what is true leadership, and whether one aspires to build grand-standing personality leaders across the business, or whether one works to build functional expertise, the fact remains that each organization must first and foremost define what it requires of its leaders.

The reason for having various leaders- either on the board, or on the executive team or to drive key transformation projects in the business must be clearly articulated, shared and agreed. The consensus seems to be that what your business requires of a leader is contextual, in other words, to drive a global expansion, or a merger & acquisition, or to reposition or diversify a business, or streamline and downscale operations. Some leaders build a reputation for succeeding when faced with particular business challenges, and are particularly sought for their capability in these situations. This faces many CEOs and chairman. However no business can afford to buy-in expertise and capability to deal with every eventuality, hence the need to build the elusive leadership capability within businesses. The need to build strategic capability, change leadership, competence in managing business functions and managing relationships.

Not only is this functional expertise required, but also the qualities and attributes of:
- the ability to be flexible in the derivation and application of strategies,
- the relentless reading, interpretation and insight into environmental and contextual factors,
- the power of influence to guide a business towards a new direction,
- to network and negotiate through the labyrinth of barriers to obtain resources required to implement the desired changes,
- to have the courage of conviction and perseverance to see changes through,
- to have the resilience to face potential failure, blame and criticism,
- and yet to have the humility and appreciation to recognize others when ‘success’ is achieved.

Over and above this, leaders are investing all of this talent into the interest of a business, not only for personal gain. Collins talks to the Level 5 Executive, who are the hallmark of good-to-great companies. These are the leaders who ‘build enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will’ . Level 5 leaders, according to Collins, channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. They are incredibly ambitious- but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves.

When considering leadership development therefore, it is critical to consider functional expertise, as well as personal attributes, values and drivers. So you may build, for example, the competence to manage a budget, yet you will also need to consider the ability to identify new business requirements, the flexibility in applying the budget within a framework of integrity & change- a leader needs to combine both the skill and values.

But which skill and which values? Businesses must first and foremost define what competence and which values they require of their leaders, in that context. You would select people that match this most closely, however also build future leaders against these requirements. Some argue that people have ingrained values, and that these cannot be developed, and the matching process is critical upfront. You can however, define the behavioural outputs of the values, and build these into the role profile of the leaders. These behaviours can be monitored. And the skills, ofcourse are applied within a particular values framework, and must be developed in this manner. If a strong value of the business is collaborative leadership, the process of budgeting will differ from another business- so teach this capability in alignment with the values of the business. And reward and recognize the required contextual application of competence.

Leadership development considers both the competence requirements, the behavioural attributes of the application of these skills, and it must consider the contextual application. To continue with the budgeting example, if I am in a public entity or in a listed company the process of budgeting will differ. So I now need to understand the skill of budgeting, the approach to budgeting, as well as the process of budgeting in my particular context.

Yet, how tragic that the leadership development programmes often only consider the one-dimensional requirement of building skills and knowledge, and not considering the context of application. They do not empower leaders to navigate and perform in particular contexts and cultures of a business. Leadership development, is afterall about achieving business results through enabling individuals to perform. This can only be achieved through building contextual and personal capability, as defined by the business context. The individual leader must be empowered through their span of control and incentivised through the reward & recognition processes, to apply the required behaviours to achieve the business results. These five factors must be addressed in developing leaders for your business.

Without the integration of the contextual requirements into the development approach, the requisite behaviours will not necessarily be achieved, nor will they be effective when implemented.

These steps must be followed when building leadership capability:

1. Define the performance criteria, the span of control and role expectations clearly, and agree these with the relevant management team
2. Articulate the role profile including attributes and competence – be realistic
3. Select relevant and balanced assessment tools, against the role profile and performance criteria
4. Conduct assessments for selection for promotion and for employment of leaders
5. Select based on objective criteria, against the pre-defined performance and role profile requirements
6. Agree a personal development plan with commitments to the required outcomes
7. Agree performance contract and related rewards against role profile and development plan
8. Articulate and address company culture and environmental impact factors which will influence performance and development
9. Institute regular assessments for ongoing learning
10. Balance leadership development programmes with personal development programmes

Leadership development will only see results if moulded within the context of the business and the individual. The range of development approaches and learning interventions is vast, ranging from e-learning to action learning, from formal education to informal networking. Be sure to select learning interventions which reinforce the competence required, as well as the contextual application and value-driven behaviours.

A range of learning interventions can be identified, for leaders to select and to build their personal development plans around. In fact it is advisable to utilise a variety of approaches which serves to reinforce behavioural changes and to allow for a range of opportunities to apply newly acquired skills and approaches. For example, a formal training course may be followed by a project to be applied within the business, which will be evaluated by a peer review mechanism, which is built into a structured mentoring programme. For example, gaining financial acumen is partially covered through formal structured learning programmes, however is applied through practice, and wisdom is gained through networking and mentoring with financial advisors/ managers within the business and the field.

No isolated training programme will achieve a change in behavour of any person- it is only with a balanced and holistic view of performance and behavioural application, that leadership is achieved. This approach mirrors that of ‘life experience’- leaders gain experience through application, as well as insight through structured learning. Though the use of structured, designed leadership strategies, the process of building leaders is fast tracked. Targeted interventions aim to build leaders to fulfil future and current roles, without having to wait the normal passage of time for leaders to emerge.

One of the key challenges facing organizations is the retention of key leadership talent. Current turnover of managers suggests that the psychological contract is altering, as senior executives are attracted to businesses who provide challenging work, opportunities for reward and promotion, opportunities to learn and be trained, and to be recognized for achievements. Through providing opportunities for development, this ironically serves to attract as well as retain key talent. Be cautious however, of managing the internal succession pool. Bringing in external recruits can serve to demotivate the internal pool, whose expectations are raised through participating in development programmes and being earmarked for potential promotion. Leadership development must be seen as part of an integrated talent management strategy.

If leadership development serves to provide the canvas for painting, assessment serves to check that the masterpiece is achieved. Assessment serves many purposes: for selection, for attributes/ values driven assessments, for competence assessments, for performance assessments. Consider how assessments can be a motivating factor to track progress, and identify further gaps to be fulfilled. This is often the missing link in leadership development- the lack of self-assessment and the discipline of the business to hold leaders accountable to performance and behavioural standards. Multiple assessment tools can be utilized to ensure accurate and useful findings, and this will need to match the particular requirements of the role.

The ultimate contribution of leadership development is to build a cadre of passionate and committed leaders who will strive to build better businesses and a better country- so any leadership development intervention is but one mere step in the journey of lifelong learning. A mark of a true leader is being open to learning, from any situation. Instill a sense of learning and this will have a lifetime impact.

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